6 Months
by Bubbiiful
Summary: They're assigned as partners for an English assignment on perspective, however, he doesn't know who she is and she hates him. Throughout the six months, they are forced to learn about each other, as they do, a friendship forms, and eventually a relationship. "But, somehow, if his answer changes, this is going to be the longest six months of his life." Clarington. AU.
1. Partners

**Disclaimer:** Lisi Harrison owns the Clique.

Because I never write Clarington and I thought I give this ship a try.

* * *

He grumbles.

Not only that, but, loudly, in utter annoyance and disdain.

It takes him a moment to tear his puppy-dog brown eyes away from his phone and glance downwards. On his desk is a simple white sheet, with bolded sentences. He reads it, scoffing, while pulling on his blonde hair. This was stupid; he really didn't give a shit about this assignment. In the next few months, he would be graduating from highschool, going off to university.

**Perspective in Society of the Social Spectrum in Highschool**

**Are you happy at where you're at right now? If so explain why in a social context. If not, would you go back and change something to be in a different path?**

"I know in six months you guys will be graduating," Mr. Myner pauses, his English class explodes in cheers, "But I really think this assignment will help you show and find a new perspective in life. It can open your eyes and show you how other people feel, so since I'm _generous_," the man laughs at his own joke, "you have the end of the year to give me your answers. And I want a minimum of two pages."

Derrick Harrington smirks, Myner was being pretty reasonable about this whole thing. He didn't need six months to complete it, he already had his answer, _yes_. Yes, he was happy about where he was at, he was the prized goalie of the Tomohawks, he was most popular senior in his grade, he was dating Massie Block and he already got accepted into the school of his dreams, Standford University.

With the class slowly dispersing, Myner undeniably clears his throat, "I forgot to mention, before you guys head to your other classes, this assignment will be in partners. I want you to spend time with them, so that it can help you see the world in their point of view." Shuffle of the student's feet are heard, some overly excited, some not.

The blonde boy checks his classmates, his best friends Josh Hotz, Cam Fisher and Kemp Hurley, the four of them could split into pairs. His head also whirls around, seeing Alicia Rivera and Dylan Marvil, Massie's best friends.

He's about to approach his group of friends, they're all in smiles, waving at him, when in his own very fashion, Myner drops the bomb.

"You will be in partners that I _picked_."

Groans, moans, fill the room replacing those boisterous cheers that were once heard.

Patiently, one by one, their English teacher tells who is partner with who. The list gets shorter and shorter, but that doesn't deter his mood, knowing that either Cam or Alicia hadn't been called on yet, Derrick grins, there was still a possibility he would be partner with either of them.

His wide grin remains, until Myner finally calls his name and a name he never heard. It is then his smile falters.

"Derrick Harrington, your partner is Claire Lyons."

His lips open, his eyebrows move and his brown eye widens, _Claire Lyons?_ _Who?_

Suddenly, the class becomes quiet, the only sounds are muffle laughs and giggles—coming from his friends— apparently he said 'who' aloud. _Oops._

The man in front of him, crosses his arm, "Pay more attention, Mr. Harrington, Miss Lyons sits right behind you." Derrick turns, some blonde chick with crooked bangs. She doesn't look up; her pale face fills with red. The boy continues to stare at her, intimidate her, to show he really, _really_ doesn't want to work with her, till his teacher's booming voice, draw his attention back. "This is the particular reason why this assignment will be good, get to know each other, and I mean this for everyone. Now, you guys can go."

Derrick stands up, he ignores his friends' jeers and giggles—they all got better partners, each other— about to talk to his new partner (as nicely as he can), he feigns a grin, shoving his hand in front of her as a friendly gesture of a handshake, only to be surprised, by her actions. She walks right past him, slightly pushing him out of the way.

What a bitch.

He huffs, god, he has to work with _her_? He would have taken anyone else, even the short-tempered Strawberry McAdams, but _no_, shit like this always happens to him.

Whatever, he already knows his answer, so he won't need to spend that much time with that girl.

But, somehow, if his answer changes—he shudders as he thinks about the remote possibility—this is going to be the longest six months of his life, the _longest_.


	2. Shallow

**Disclaimer:** Lisi Harrison owns the Clique.

I feel like I made Derrick too much of an asshole in this chapter.

Oh, and Happy Canada Day and Early Fourth of July!

* * *

Up and down, forward and back.

The directions of the baseball, so simple, yet, it intrigues him.

He stares intently, his arms moving as he throws the object up and then catching it when it falls down. He begins to think, drawing back earlier, school, specifically, the dreaded assignment. A baseball can have four different directions, perhaps even four various paths. Really, it depends on where the person would throw it. Quietly, pondering more, his eyes closes, once he has and knows the ball is securely in his palms.

And then it _hits_ him.

He's thinking about _school_, when it's _over._

Derrick groans, pushing himself off his bed, his eyes wide open, lingering for a while, until it shifts to another view aside from his ceiling, a person, his best friend, Cam.

The black-haired boy with two mismatched, and whimsical—though, the blonde would never tell him _that_ in person—eyes. His best friend since elementary school, and if he were to count, they been friends for eight long years, so it isn't shocking to him that Cam can read him like an open book.

"Stop thinking so hard," Cam says softly, he cracks his fist, while spinning on Derrick's computer chair in a complete 360, only to stop after a few seconds. "The assignment won't be that difficult."

"Easy for you to say," Derrick knits his eyebrows, forming a glare; he scoffs, oh so, diligently. "You have Alicia as a partner and not some unknown chick." He adds with a mumble.

A comedic, light-hearted smile spreads on Cam's lips, he chuckles. "Well, if you remember, Derrick." A pause emerges, "Alicia isn't the brightest."

And not a moment wasted, Derrick's glare deepens, he runs his fingers sleekly through his blonde tresses, willing himself not to pull it out, because of all the annoyance of stress. The blonde opens his mouth, spilling words, without missing a beat. "At least Alicia is _easy_ on the eyes."

"_Derrick_."

Derrick gives a smirk, crossing his arm. He knows he's acting like a total douche, but he convinces himself with an answer that he is _human _after all, and needs to vent, and who else, better than Cam? "No I'm being fucking serious, I'll take anyone over that _girl_, hell, even Strawberry would have been a better candidate."

Cam frowns. He knows, like, _knows _Derrick, they known each other for so long, that if they were related, they would be slated as twins. And he knows that his best friend will feel guilty of what he says, he just wishes the blonde wouldn't take his attitude out on people they didn't know, personally. Derrick's personal and family life was and still is tough, to say at least, clearly it affects the blonde in many continuous ways. In the past few years, the brunette notice the slight changes in personality and sudden outburst, and guiltily enough, Cam let his best friend's comments slide, but taking it out on some innocent girl? This is where he draws the line.

"Come on, Harrington." Cam shoots quietly, "Claire doesn't seem that bad." Derrick scoffs once again, though it doesn't stop his best friend from continuing. "She's kind of cute in her own way."

A wicked smile twists on Derrick's face, he forces out a cruel laugh. "Yeah, if your into plain broads, that don't give a shit about their appearances. I mean, she doesn't even attempt to put makeup on, and did you see her shit-ass clothes? It looks she shops at a fucking thrift store." The words come gurgling out faster than he thought it would, and he's about to say more, despite the guilt building up inside, only to shut up when he hears Cam interject.

"God, you're so fucking _shallow_, man. Is that all you care about? Appearances?"

Surprisingly, Derrick quiets down, when Cam rants, he rants. The brunette has always been the voice of reason from his group of friends, the kind one.

"You don't even know Claire. But you have the fucking audacity to call out by the way she looks?" Cam snaps with clear anger in his voice, "That's pretty hypocritical of you, Derrick."

The blonde knows where Cam is going with all of this, but really, he doesn't want to go there any more. His eyes shut momentarily, somehow, it helps him block out at hearing his friend. It isn't until he hears the last part of Cam's speech, does his brown eyes pop back open.

"—you're better than that, Derrick. It's just that lately you been more aggressive and shallow about everything and everybody."

Stillness emerges in the room, they don't say anything, and Cam doesn't go further, to press on, because he knows Derrick doesn't like talking about his family's past. But what surprises him, is the softness and vulnerability of the blonde's voice.

"I know," Derrick says, "You're right about it okay? I shouldn't take it out on her—_Claire_." He flashes a small, smile, which they both can understand is genuine, for now. "I know I'm being a total asshole right now."

"Glad to hear it."

Derrick shrugs, a conflicted look settles on his features, but he erases it before his friend notices it. He then nods his head as Cam excuses himself to get a snack. Once his friend leaves completely, the blonde plops down on his bed once more, going back to the action of throwing the ball up and down.

His thoughts drifts back to the conversation they just had, and when he really, really thinks about it, Claire wasn't that bad, hell, she wasn't even an eyesore. He did manage to get a good look at her face when he went up to give her a handshake, and Cam was right, she was cute in her own way.

He was just being an asshole about it and the guilt that was now surfacing was proof of it.

Not that he would ever admit it aloud to others (about Claire's appearance and him, being an ass) because, that's just who he is.


	3. Dreamer

**Disclaimer:** Lisi Harrison owns the Clique.

I suck at updating, sorry.

Future chapters will be longer and will include both Derrick's and Claire's part(s).

* * *

The way the raindrops pitter-patters against her window, usually makes her at ease, _usually_. But today is not usual, no, not at all.

Today is _awful_.

It is the day she has been assign as Derrick Harrington's partner, for an English project. And that alone, makes her want curl in the ball and never come out of the position.

She glances outside, taking the poetic beauty of nature in one go. To the best of her ability, she tries to create a dream scenario about this whole situation—after all, the blonde has always been a dreamer— and yet, the entire scenery cannot take her mind of that…_boy_.

And that's when she realizes she has to face the cold reality, she has to work with Derrick _frickin'_ Harrington, and it literally creates a sensation where she can feel bile rise up to her throat, and to a further extent, vomit.

Her teeth clench just imagining the boy, or even when someone nearby mentions his name—it's that bad. Though, no one can blame her, the past is the past.

Without noticing, a soft, defeated sigh, spills from her mouth. It is then, the person on the other line—her best friend—comes to life.

"At least you don't have _Massie the_ _Tyrant _in your class, or as your partner, Claire."

Claire Lyons chews on her cuticles, listening to the soothing high-pitched voice on the other end of the phone, Kristen Gregory. The blondes have been friends since elementary school, so close, that people would always remark how they would be attach to the hips.

"She's going to be all like '_Kuh-risten_, why are you like going to a fancy school when you're so poor?'" A pause emerges, although soon subsides, as her best friends mimic's Massie's crackly laugh, though, it doesn't work quite well, as her signature phlegmy laugh is more dominant.

Hearing everything clearly, the pale-blonde tries her best to smile, even if, Kristen cannot see it. From the two of them, the dirty-blonde has always been the upbeat and optimistic one, some of the numerous qualities that drawn Claire to become friends with her, so many years ago.

The light blonde finally allows herself to chime in, "Or she's going to make you do all the work and take credit for it. Remember last time for your social studies project?"

"Oh my god, that pissed me off more than anything, even more when I got my first 'B'."

Claire giggles slightly, recounting that incident. And when she finishes, for a moment, the phone goes silent, and she knows Kristen is thinking of the situation the pale-blonde is going to be in.

"Claire maybe it won't be that bad—you working with Derrick." Kristen offers, her voice fluctuating as she speaks, "he isn't the monster he used to be, he's matured a lot."

It doesn't surprise her that Kristen tries to see the best of people; the wavy blonde has always been like that. Claire, herself, however, has always been the total opposite.

"Yeah, maybe not to you," Claire snips softly; she tears her gaze from the window once more, and looks down. Great, now her cuticles were turning into a bright tomato red. "You guys had at least a common ground, regarding soccer and soccer camps."

Her tone of voice is enough indication for Kristen to drop the subject and move on. They chit chat for a while, their conversation goes smoothly, until Kristen excuses herself as she has an upcoming soccer practice.

"Deal with him the best you can, and remember that I'm here for you." Her best friend comments before hanging up.

With that, Claire tosses her phone aside, and heads for her bed, face first. She is devour by the softness of her pillows and blanket, causing her to squeeze her bright blue eyes shut, wanting to sleep. And when she sleeps, she'll know she'll dream, having an illusion that will be loads better than her reality.

But there's going to be a downside, because dreams are dreams, they aren't real, and once she wakes up, and she knows she has to face life.

Though, Claire is stubborn at heart, everyone who knows her knows that information about the girl.

She's the type that can get people to believe in the most unrealistic things if she tries hard, and maybe, just maybe, the blonde can convince herself, that this whole partnership, is a fraud, a false, or a stupid, stupid, illusion.

After all, she's always been known as a dreamer.


End file.
